The sun was shining when we drove out of Naples, Vesuvius had shown its face and the bay was a darker blue than the sky. The kidney rattling road lead us out of town pretty easily and it wasn’t long before we were winding around the bay and the coast was in sight.
Rosie did a double take the sights you see on the open road…the dog in the foot space on the scooter… at 70km phr.
Back inland we headed, to skirt a couple of towns, all signs lead to the Amalfi coast, we came to a toll bay across the road, The Operator wasn’t expecting this, there is no superhighways in this neck of the wood that would warrant a toll?
Ok, like all toll roads you go to a booth, press the button for a ticket, one spits out, you take it and carry on……when you exit the motorway you come to another toll booth, insert your ticket and it gives you the toll price you need to pay depending on how far you have traveled….no problems, we have been through heaps of these.
The Operator pulls into the ticket bay, presses the button….nothing comes out, four cars are behind us….The Operator presses the button frantically…. nothing happens, a ladies voice is speaking rapid Italian to us in an unkindly manner….cars are starting to toot…there is is no ticket and the barrier is still down….The Operator puts the car in reverse, winds down the window puts his arm out and indicates we are backing up….we have seen this done heaps of times….just be assertive, like the Italians….not working at the toll booth, the tooting is constant….next minute a long ticket spits out of the toll machine and the barrier raises…..we are gone, as fast as the Fiat will take us…..Shame. The ticket issued is a fine for not paying the toll….2 euros. Really. We must pay within 15 days or court costs and collection fees will be introduced. What the hell? Oooooh, this road needed us to pay 2euros so we could use it…..ooooops. WE DIDN’T SEE ANY SIGNS…that we could understand…..
Around the bay we went, the road is getting narrower and the cliffs higher, the traffic is still pretty heavy and we are all crawling along very slowly.
It is a great day to be high above the beautiful blue water, it sparkles in the sunshine and looks so clear. We jostle with other tourists and fruit stalls for parking in tiny laybys to take sneak peaks and pics of the towns as we come up to them. The road is barely two car widths wide and you certainly have to be aware of oncoming buses and their turning space on the winding roads…its a little hair raising alright.
Welcome to Positano, the town peeps out at us and Rosie rings Stephano whose apartment we are renting…oops should have rung him earlier we are nearly outside the apartment now…’I will open the garage door for you now, stop the car he said, you are right outside’. The garage door is in the light coloured building in between the parked motorbikes.
We stopped, as you can see it is barely a two lane road, it is empty now, at the time cars were streaming up hill past us, and we were pointed downhill, immediately, cars behind us started tooting, a garage door just behind us started opening…the opening was right on the roadside…’Shit said the Operator I’m going to have to back up….so in a dejavu fashion, The Operator wound down the window, motioned he was going backwards and just started to turn the car to go backwards into the garage….we stopped traffic both ways coming in and out of Positano for 5 mins…while The Operator did a 10 point turn to angle backwards into the garage and avoid missing a Mercedes front bumper behind us by millimeters, we had stopped about 20 cars and buses…the pitying faces of the tourists in the bus behind the Mercedes were so close…..but we were in the shed. Well done Operator, another totally calm and collected piece of work under pressure.
We are situated at the top of Positano, the town tumbles down the craggy steep cliffs below us and the eagles view from our balcony is beautiful. We can see right around the coast and see the white waves smash into the cliff.
There is only one road going down into Positano and it comes back up the other side to go out. Just one big loop, sooooo steep and full of death defying switchbacks, the two lane road becomes a one way only half way down and if someone parks on the side of the road or delivery trucks park to deliver goods to shops there is a massive tailback of traffic….most vehicles squeeze through….its not for fainthearted Rosie…every single vehicle, scooters included have scratches and scrapes in the body work.
There is an internal bus that drives the loop road continuously and it feels like it is going sooo fast and avoids oncoming traffic and cliff faces by fractions, it is an adventure ride in itself, the bus stop is right outside out apartment, as is a wee fruit and vege store, bar/cafe and restaurant plus the post office and newspaper store. Good work Rosie, it is nice to be staying on the edge of town away from the hustle and bustle, but be able to access it easily.
The road is very long, loopy, steep and narrow if you are walking into town, there is no footpath, you have to be very aware of the traffic and blind corners are everywhere. As short cuts, there is a network of steps that lead you downhill between the houses. The Operator walked from our place to the beach there were 661 steps to the bottom.
It looks deceptive and took us a little while to work out where landmarks were as the looping switchback road gives you a false sense of direction. In this picture there is a large expanse of flat green roof at the bottom of the village, next to it is a yellow building with a small white dome on the top. That is the last stop at the bottom of the hill where the bus drops you off, from there down to the beach there is no traffic only pedestrians, still downhill, a combination of steps and walkways with shops and restaurants on either side lead you to the beach area, all in all about another 400 meters.
When you have finished shopping, you catch the bus back up the hill at this building and wind up the other side of the town back to the top. As the crow flies, nothing is far away, we would only be 600m from the beach to our place up the hill, taking the stairs and road combo Rosie and the Operator are a good 1.5km climb from the beach to apartment.
Rosie and the Operator are here in Positano for a week. It is a relaxing time now we have the lay of the land and know how it all works. We are cruising a little and enjoying the autumn sunshine and warmth. Stephano, our apartment landlord owns a shop in town and tells us at the end of the month this town closes up for winter and there is no accommodation available or shops open until February. During the height of the summer season, or for 6 months straight the shops are open from 0830 in the morning till 09.00 at night, so everyone is looking forward to a little relaxation and downtime for themselves over winter.
The beach is beautiful, the only flat area in Positano, there is no sand, only fine pebbles. Shops, bars, restaurants and boat rental places line the foreshore. It is a lovely place to be, looking upwards the town soars above you. Unfortunately, at his time of year we are at the mercy of the weather too, we are trying to get to the Island of Capri for a day trip….the Sirrocco wind has blown in and all sailings are cancelled.
Ironically to Rosie, the sea still looks pretty calm and the swell is only 0.4, yes, yes, the sea is a little ripply looking, but, apparently it is mostly like glass in the high season. Stink….we will keep watching the weather, it is supposed to improve by the weekend.
You can just sit for hours and gaze at the scenery, seeing something different every second. Every twist and turn in the road or set of stairs you go up and down gives you a different vantage and view. This town is truly beautiful. At the end of the summer season it is still very busy….because the heart of the town is tiny it appears even busier. It is easy to walk away from the bustle, and sit, and enjoy…..
As for our favourite pastime of eating and drinking…well, there are so many choices to be had, most with a beautiful terrace overlooking some part of the town and sea, seafood is plentiful, straight from the ocean on our doorstep. As the sun sets and town lights up, it just gets prettier and prettier….if possible. They even put fireworks on for us one night. Nawwww, thanks Positano.
Over the week we have had some very rainy days, where we have stayed close to home, we have also taken trips out to the hill town of Ravello, and ferries out to Capri and the town of Amalfi….coming to you soon.
